Chapter Summaries

Guzhen resolved to enter the ancient formation, and Xin Xin persuaded Ci Hui to lead the way through its brief opening. As the formation activated above the whirlpools, Ci Hui searched for a door among the shifting lights while Xiao Hua studied the whirlpools for their underlying pattern.

• Guzhen said he would brave the danger to fulfill his long-cherished wish, and Ci Hui and Xin Xin offered to accompany him.
• Xin Xin explained that Ci Hui could use Heavenly Foot Penetration, or Ruyi Tong, to enter the formation during its brief opening, and Ci Hui agreed to lead.
• Xin Xin led Xiao Hua, Ci Hui, and Guzhen toward the whirlpools after checking the Ink Cloud Pupil and scouting the area.
• The whirlpools churned and summoned a hurricane, while Xin Xin and Ci Hui protected the group from the storm and eerie sounds.
• A beam of light from the clouds flowed into the whirlpools, triggering the formation and filling the air with shifting light phantoms.
• Xin Xin told Ci Hui to enter any door he spotted among the phantoms, while Xiao Hua watched the whirlpools for clues to the formation's pattern.

Xiao Hua discovered that synchronized whirlpools opened a gateway into the spell formation, but the entrance appeared far away and collapsed quickly. Ci Hui used Heavenly Foot Penetration to reach it first, and Xiao Hua followed the others inside before it vanished.

• Xiao Hua realized the whirlpools' rotations controlled the spell formation and predicted that an unusual change would appear soon.
• Xiao Hua sensed the entrance forming, but Master Guzhen spotted the actual gateway several li away as the light and shadows gathered.
• Ci Hui used Heavenly Foot Penetration to cross the distance and enter the gateway before it collapsed.
• Xin Xin entered next, while Master Guzhen shrank to pass through the small opening.
• Xiao Hua shrank and followed them inside, and the gateway shattered as the waters and whirlpools returned to their former state.

Xiao Hua and his companions entered a water-filled ancient formation beneath the Sage River, where Benefactor Xin used a Daoist Ice Sealing Talisman to reveal a passage through the illusory water. They discovered a mass of bones frozen in the passage, and Gu Zhen began praying over them, believing his younger brother's remains were among them.

• Benefactor Xin thanked Xiao Hua for predicting the formation entrance, while Xiao Hua denied understanding the formation.
• Gu Zhen cautioned Ci Hui to recover his Sarira and avoid using mind power again after his earlier exertion.
• Benefactor Xin activated an Ice Sealing Talisman, freezing the formation's water and revealing an ice palace passage toward the immortal artifact.
• Benefactor Xin led Gu Zhen, Ci Hui, and Xiao Hua into the passage, with Xiao Hua flying at the rear as their senses were suppressed.
• The group found hundreds or thousands of bones frozen in the passage, and Gu Zhen began reciting the Rebirth Mantra for his younger brother, but the ice wall did not respond.

After Guzhen found relief from his grief, Xin Xin led the group through the ice formation’s confusing passages. She prepared to use Six Harmonies Spirit Concealing Incense to send out a thread of her Primordial Spirit and scout the three forks, while Xiao Hua realized she suspected his Daoist cultivation.

• Guzhen recited the Rebirth Mantra before the frozen bones, eased his grief, and agreed to follow Xin Xin.
• Xiao Hua, Ci Hui, and Guzhen explored separate forks, then returned after finding more identical branches.
• Xiao Hua noticed a river fish beyond the ice wall and concluded that the apparent view of the river was an illusion meant to lure intruders into a deadly restriction.
• Xin Xin took out Six Harmonies Spirit Concealing Incense and explained that it could protect a Primordial Spirit sent out to scout.
• Xin Xin said she would release a thread of her Primordial Spirit to investigate the three forks, while Xiao Hua suspected she had sensed his Daoist true essence.

Xin Xin’s attempt to probe the passages with Soul Concealing Incense brought an Essence Devouring Demonic Beast’s attack, injuring her Primordial Spirit. The group continued to a poisonous water passage, where Guzhen began using his Buddhist bowl to collect the water and open their way forward.

• Xin Xin split her Primordial Spirit among the passages with Soul Concealing Incense, but the incense went out and she sensed an Essence Devouring Demonic Beast.
• Xin Xin led Xiao Hua, Ci Hui, and Guzhen away from the beast, then explained that it had devoured part of her Primordial Spirit and that she needed three years to recover fully.
• Guzhen agreed to lead the group onward while Xin Xin protected her injured Primordial Spirit with Soul Condensing Golden Nectar.
• The group reached a deep-blue water wall, and Xin Xin explained that its poisonous water could be cleared with Guzhen’s Buddhist artifact bowl.
• Guzhen enlarged the bowl and began drawing the poisonous water from the passage into it.

Xiao Hua and the others crossed a poisonous-water passage while Master Guzhen collected its water, but the formation overwhelmed his alms bowl and began to collapse around them. With retreat cut off and no way to navigate through the water, Xiao Hua urged Guzhen to keep moving forward and offered to help collect the poison.

• Master Guzhen used his alms bowl to draw poisonous water from the passage while Xiao Hua and the others followed.
• Xiao Hua suspected the formation was pushing water into the bowl faster than Guzhen could collect it, and Xin Xin angrily explained the danger and defended her preparations.
• The passage shook as Guzhen's alms bowl failed to contain the incoming water, and a leak burned away part of his Buddhist light.
• The water walls began collapsing, cutting off the route behind them as more river water surged in from ahead.
• Xin Xin admitted that the passage offered no reliable direction through the water, and Xiao Hua told Guzhen they had to advance and offered to help collect the poisonous water.

Xiao Hua and Guzhen joined forces to collect the toxic water flooding the passage, carrying Xin Xin and Cihui through the danger until they reached a vast chamber containing an inverted triangular palace. After the palace’s bewitching light nearly ensnared Guzhen, Xin Xin gave him a Jialuo Golden Leaf to attach to his robe.

• Xiao Hua used the Pure Water Vase to help Guzhen collect the toxic water as the collapsing passage’s waves pursued them.
• When Guzhen’s arms failed, Xiao Hua took control of both the Pure Water Vase and Guzhen’s alms bowl, enduring the formation’s mounting pressure.
• The force of the toxic water abruptly vanished, and Xiao Hua caught the Buddhist treasures after they flew from his hands.
• Xiao Hua and the others emerged into a glowing chamber, where the inverted triangular palace captivated Guzhen until Xiao Hua’s reminder broke its hold.
• Xin Xin gave Guzhen a Jialuo Golden Leaf, which he attached to his robe before it vanished with its golden light.

Xiao Hua challenged Xinxin to reveal why she wanted to enter the Profound Water Palace, warning that its dangers could outweigh any reward. Xinxin admitted that she was not seeking the immortal artifact but searching for someone who might be imprisoned beneath it.

• Xinxin gave the group Jialuo Golden Leaves, which she said could conceal them from the two Profound Water Ancient Beasts guarding the Profound Water Palace.
• Xiao Hua questioned whether the palace held treasures or suppressed a demonic beast and argued that the group should turn back rather than risk their lives.
• Xiao Hua and Ci Hui pressed Xinxin to explain what she had concealed, while Guzhen's silence showed his own doubts about proceeding.
• Xinxin said the immortal artifact could suppress anything across the Three Great Continents and revealed that finding someone imprisoned beneath it was her true purpose.
• Guzhen realized that Xinxin was searching for someone who might have been suppressed within the Profound Water Palace.

Xin Xin explained why she had come to Profound Water Palace, and Xiao Hua agreed to enter with her while wondering whether he could claim the immortal artifact. As the group approached the palace, it activated the ancient formation, leaving them caught in violent winds just as a Profound Water Ancient Beast roared nearby.

• Xin Xin said she sought someone who might be trapped beneath the immortal artifact and admitted she had prepared a way to rescue them.
• Xiao Hua considered taking the immortal artifact, but dropped the idea after Ci Hui warned him against greed.
• Guzhen led Xin Xin, Ci Hui, and Xiao Hua toward Profound Water Palace, and Xiao Hua examined its strange runes and formation.
• Profound Water Palace rotated and released runes that drew Primordial Qi from the walls, unleashing powerful hurricane winds around the group.
• Xiao Hua suggested riding the winds into the palace, but Xin Xin warned that only its gate was safe, and a Profound Water Ancient Beast roared nearby.

Xiao Hua protected himself and his companions from the Profound Water Ancient Beast with Innate True Water, then fed the beast poisonous water when it tried to swallow their barrier. The Profound Water Palace’s sudden reaction flooded the space with Sage River water, and Xin Xin doubted the poison could harm the beast.

• Xiao Hua used the Pure Water Bottle to release Innate True Water and shield Xin Xin, Ci Hui, and the others from the violent spiritual energy.
• A Profound Water Ancient Beast attacked the barrier with blue radiance, then tried to suck the Innate True Water into its mouth.
• Xiao Hua poured out more Innate True Water and the poisonous water he had collected, and the beast swallowed both.
• The Profound Water Palace trembled, the ancient beasts turned toward it, and Sage River water flooded the space.
• Ci Hui asked Xiao Hua what had happened, and Xiao Hua explained that the beast had swallowed poison; Xin Xin said the poison could not kill a beast tied to the palace and its formation.

Xiao Hua, Xin Xin, and their companions entered the Profound Water Palace after the Profound Water Ancient Beasts stopped attacking and appeared to become statues. As they explored the palace entrance, one beast revived and slipped inside after them, though they did not know danger had followed.

• Xiao Hua confirmed that the Profound Water Ancient Beast had left, and Xin Xin led the group toward the palace while warning them to stay silent near its gate.
• Xiao Hua and the others saw two motionless Profound Water Ancient Beasts standing like statues beneath the palace and carefully passed them.
• Xin Xin used four blue pearls and golden true qi to open a hidden entrance in the palace's supporting pillar, and the group went inside.
• After the entrance closed, the ancient beast Xiao Hua had scanned revived, searched outside, and entered the Profound Water Palace through a concealed opening.
• Xiao Hua stood inside the palace gate, stunned by the scene before him, unaware that the ancient beast had followed.

Xiao Hua and his companions entered a mirror-filled triangular maze in the Profound Water Palace, where the formation disoriented their sight and concealed the true entrance. Benefactor Xin proposed using a Dharma manifestation to identify the genuine mirror, but Ci Hui discovered that the palace suppressed his Bodhi Sarira.

• Xiao Hua, Benefactor Xin, Ci Hui, and Master Guzhen were disoriented by the maze’s countless mirrored triangles and guarded their minds against the formation.
• Benefactor Xin explained that only one mirror was real and that the formation targeted Confucian Clear Sight, while other spiritual techniques were restricted.
• Benefactor Xin said she had devised a method with Ci Hui’s help and suggested that the group search for a mirror that could reflect a Dharma manifestation.
• Ci Hui proposed releasing his sarira before Master Guzhen tried a Dharma Body Technique, but the palace suppressed Ci Hui’s Bodhi Sarira.
• Master Guzhen reacted with shock when Ci Hui revealed he had cultivated a Bodhi Sarira, and Benefactor Xin praised its rarity and significance.

Xiao Hua and his companions searched the Profound Water Palace’s illusory mirrors while Guzhen’s golden body endured the array’s assault. They found two possible entrances, and Xin Xin prepared talismans to open them.

• Guzhen summoned his Buddha statue golden body, which shattered many illusory mirrors but began melting under the array’s power.
• Ci Hui, Xin Xin, and Xiao Hua searched the mirrors for an entrance while Guzhen struggled to hold the array back.
• Xiao Hua spotted a triangular mirror showing Guzhen’s enlarged golden body, and Ci Hui and Xin Xin each found a matching entrance in another mirror.
• Guzhen withdrew his golden body after the group found the entrances, leaving him weak and trembling.
• Xin Xin revealed two identical talismans and proposed opening both entrances before choosing one.
• Xin Xin opened a jade box, and an ancient leaf-shaped talisman sprang out.

Xin Xin used a Wood Spirit Talisman to break the formation and reveal two passages whose summons affected the group differently. Xiao Hua and Xin Xin chose the lower passage while Ci Hui and Guzhen took the upper one, and the lower entrance sealed behind Xiao Hua and Xin Xin as they entered.

• Xin Xin activated a Daoist Wood Spirit Talisman, which spread vines across the mirror and shattered it to reveal a blue passage.
• After the second mirror broke, Ci Hui and Guzhen sensed a summons from the upper passage, while Xiao Hua and Xin Xin favored the lower one.
• Guzhen chose the upper passage, and Ci Hui accompanied him in hopes of helping him find the Ancient Buddha Sarira.
• Xin Xin chose the lower passage with Xiao Hua, and the upper entrance resealed after Ci Hui and Guzhen disappeared.
• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin entered the lower passage, where swirling blue light sealed the entrance behind them.

Xiao Hua and Xin Xin struggled through a passage in the Profound Water Palace as its restrictions increased the crushing pressure, and Xiao Hua realized Xin Xin did not know the way out. He sensed an exit ahead and urged her toward it, but the escalating pressure pushed them both near their limits.

• Xin Xin entered the passage with her flexible sword ready, then discovered that the growing pressure had weakened her senses and weighed down her body.
• Xiao Hua learned that Xin Xin’s Ink Cloud Pupil provided no information about the exit and resolved to focus on surviving.
• As blue and green radiance appeared in successive stages, the passage’s pressure intensified, and Xiao Hua’s use of Wind Escape caused him to sink under the restriction.
• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin argued about whether the passage’s radiance might lead to an exit, then hurried forward as waves of crushing pressure battered them.
• Xiao Hua sensed an exit about nine hundred zhang ahead, and Xin Xin continued onward while golden mist formed armor around her body.

Xiao Hua and Xinxin were trapped by a crushing array that shattered Xinxin’s golden armor and suppressed their abilities. Xiao Hua used his Heaven and Earth Manifestation to hurl Xinxin toward the passage exit, then chased after her with the As-You-Wish Staff as the pressure surged.

• The passage cracked and then released crushing pressure that stopped Xiao Hua and Xinxin in midair and badly injured them.
• Xiao Hua found that the Sea-Overturning Seal was weakened by the array, then used the Seven Star Sword Array to ease the pressure around Xinxin.
• Xiao Hua unleashed his Heaven and Earth Manifestation and offered to send Xinxin out of the passage first.
• Xinxin accepted, drew the golden hairpin, and used its phoenix-like brilliance to shield herself and the Seven Star Sword Array.
• Xiao Hua hurled Xinxin toward the exit and followed behind her, swinging the As-You-Wish Staff as the passage shook.

Xiao Hua survived the passage’s crushing pressure by combining lightning, the Blood Drop Cave Heaven, and the Demonic Realm Concealment Technique, then reunited with Xin Xin outside. After they settled their suspicions about his identity, Xiao Hua looked around and found that they had emerged into an open space beneath a blue sky rather than a palace.

• Xin Xin escaped the passage as golden light overwhelmed it, then waited anxiously when Xiao Hua did not emerge.
• Xiao Hua survived after his golden body collapsed, using lightning and the Demonic Realm Concealment Technique to reach the passage’s end.
• Xiao Hua emerged exhausted and injured, realized he was naked, and dressed while Xin Xin turned her back.
• Xin Xin questioned Xiao Hua about his identity and accused him of concealing who had sent him.
• Xiao Hua insisted he would protect Xin Xin, and she decided his identity did not matter while they were inside the Profound Water Palace.
• Xiao Hua inspected their surroundings and noticed a vast open space beneath a blue sky instead of a palace.

Xiao Hua and Xin Xin searched the Profound Water Palace and found rare spirit herbs, including Sincerity Fruit and Yan Yuan Grass, which they harvested for their own use. Xiao Hua also discovered a token bearing a rabbit head, while Xiao Guo secretly gathered the herbs around Xin Xin’s Yan Yuan Grass.

• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin walked through the chilly, mist-blurred grounds of the Profound Water Palace, unable to find an exit or sense their companions.
• Xiao Hua spotted Sincerity Fruit and sent Xiao Guo to uproot and transplant it into his space.
• Xin Xin recognized ancient Yan Yuan Grass and harvested it to help her Golden Eyes reach major completion.
• Xiao Hua collected several rare spirit herbs and found a red-bronze token bearing a vicious rabbit head among the blue-lit soil.
• Xiao Hua noticed that Xiao Guo had cleared the herbs around Xin Xin, and Xin Xin discovered the doll sneaking away with them.

Xiao Hua collected more scattered bones and learned that they were joining a dangerous skeletal frame, while his attempt to form the Hand of Cause and Effect nearly destabilized his space. Elsewhere, Ci Hui and Gu Zhen escaped a crystal wall badly wounded, and Ci Hui said he could still endure.

• Xin Xin kicked up several white bones, and Xiao Hua collected them while teasing her about their supposed connection to his past life.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua saw the new bones fuse with the skeletal frame in his space and sensed danger as Thunder Water and lightning nourished it.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua began forming the Hand of Cause and Effect, but Green-robed Xiao Hua warned that the hand seal was destabilizing their space, so he stopped.
• Xiao Hua left the space and continued directing Xiao Guo to move spiritual herbs and trees from the Profound Water Palace into it.
• Ci Hui and Gu Zhen broke through a crystal wall and collapsed, both covered in severe wounds.
• Gu Zhen struggled to his feet and asked whether Ci Hui could move, and Ci Hui replied that he could still hold on.

After escaping the insect-filled passage, Guzhen and Cihui pressed on through a vast corridor in search of the Ancient Buddha Sarira. Cihui redirected them down a seemingly endless path, where a giant appeared behind them as the corridor shook.

• Guzhen and Cihui discussed the deadly beasts and strange insects they had survived, and Cihui worried that Xin Xin and Tipu had not escaped the passage.
• Guzhen gave Cihui healing medicines, and the two treated their injuries while walking through an enormous corridor toward the Ancient Buddha Sarira.
• At a sky-blue stone wall, Cihui urged Guzhen to take a different passage, claiming he sensed the sarira ahead, and Guzhen agreed despite suspecting him.
• After walking for a long time, Guzhen decided to turn back, but his heavy footsteps shook the corridor and made its walls glow.
• Cihui spotted a giant several dozen zhang tall approaching from more than two hundred zhang away, revealing why the corridor was so enormous.